Regarding the M/M vs M/F discussion. I think there’s a particular appeal to “love that is primarily not romantic but due to a common quest or goal in life” or “I’ve never had sex with you but we’ve been through all possible ups and downs and you mean more to me than anyone in this world” and partly why I like M/M relationships is that it’s typically more popular for this type of relationship to be depicted between men (for gender stereotypes and historical reasons, like you say).
Then of course the way we modern people indulge ourselves is by introducing the aspect of romantic feelings or sex into all relationships we see as important (deepest love). I think this is partly why we write M/M fanfic.
So this leads me to the belief that, if one were to characterize an M/F relationship with “common quest love” or “go through life together” but the main female and male leads are NOT romantically involved. It’d be a hit, and we’ll write tons of fanfic making them romantically involved. My two cents
V interesting! I do love a deep, loyal, tender relationship that isn't necessarily romantic 💘
Totally agree, a lot of historically typically male experiences lend themselves to intense, devoted friendships, ie war (bothers in arms), pro sports (jocks in arms), crime/violence/piracy (rogues in arms), cowboying (heath ledger rip) etc
That last part of your ask is making me think of mulder and scully! I've never actually watched the x files, but they seem to have the kind of dynamic you describe at the end there...
Maybe we should all be recommending each other media with this particular M/F dynamic ☺️
Many thanks for your cents 🙏
